Miranda: Child of the Land of Oz
by littlegirlwarrior
Summary: Oz and Glinda rule the land of Oz together as King and Queen. But their daughter, Princess Miranda, is cursed. Will she be able to stop the two Wicked Witches from destroying her land, or will she help them by destroying Oz herself.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey y'all! Welcome to my first Oz fanfiction. I'm gonna write the first chapter and if I get enough good feedback, I'll continue the story. I just saw Oz the Great and Powerful last night (I still can't believe what happened to Theodora) and I was inspired. Each one of the main characters from the movie will appear or at least be mentioned in here. Also, there are two points I have to make:**

**1. The Oz year is pretty much modern time (at least by the time my OC is a teenager), not 1905, because Oz is a magical world, and Oz ages but he lives much much longer than normal mortals because the same magic that keeps Glinda alive and young applies to him because they love each other so much (sounds totally cheesy and cliche but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do).**

**2. Dorothy Gale never appeared and saved the land of Oz from the Wicked Witch of the West (pretty much disregard the original Wizard of Oz movie).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the land of Oz, the Wizard of Oz, or any characters in Oz except my OC(s).**

That first kiss with Glinda opened doors for Oz. After about a year of a formal relationship, Oz proposed to his beautiful good witch. The two of them married with only those who knew of Oz's being alive attending the ceremony: Knuk the Emerald City page, the little china girl who was given the name Dolly, Finley the flying monkey, and the head tinker. The rest of the people of Oz thought their mighty wizard to be only an ephereal face of smoke, a cover that was kept to prevent the two Wicked Witches, Glinda's sisters, Theodora and Evanora, from returning. Everywhere, people thought of Glinda as the Queen of Oz, but did not fully comprehend the extent of her and the King's love.

After several months of bliss, Glinda discovered that she was pregnant. At first, Oz was terrified at the thought of being a father. He wasn't even a real wizard. In reality, he was a conman magician from Kansas who had tricked the entire population into believing he had magical powers. But Glinda reminded her husband that he was not the same man he was when he first arrived in Oz. Oz had learned the power of goodness, a quality that the former king, Glinda's father who was murdered by Evanora, possessed.

The big day finally arrived. However, what frightened Glinda was that it was exactly the second anniversary of the day Theodora and Evanora were defeated...and also, the moment she gave birth to the child, a solar eclipse occurred. In Oz, eclipses were known to be very dangerous, especially if a child was born on one. Those children were rumored to live dark and cursed lives. But Oz assured his wife that nothing would ever harm their little _daughter_ as long as they believed.

The next morning, King Oz (in his smoke form) and Queen Glinda announced the birth of the Daughter of the land of Oz, Princess Miranda Kiara Avalon Celeste. The people cheered for their new princess. Now they didn't have to worry about where the throne would go if their magnificent king and beloved queen disappeared. Everybody prayed that the wicked witches would not return.

However, Theodora, known as the Wicked Witch of the West, decided to pay a visit to her infant niece. One month after Miranda's birth, on the night of the full moon, the green skinned witch flew her broom from her castle to the Emerald City palace's nursery. Theodora used her fire powers to melt the outside door handle from the balcony to the nursery. She crept over to the crib, grinning evilly, but when she peered inside the crib to see the baby, she felt a pang in her heart. Even though Evanora had melted Theodora's heart and replaced it with pure wickedness, it still hurt. That should have been her baby. She was supposed to be Oz's queen, until she discovered that Oz "flirted with all three sisters". Evanora had taken advantage of Theodora's vulnerability and broken heart to transform her into the epitome of evil.

The witch shook her head to stop the flashback. She loved being evil. It was so much easier than being that naive goody-goody that she had been before. Her wicked grin retuned as she looked down on the newly awakened girl. Just like all babies, Miranda smiled as she played with her feet, gleefully unaware of the peril she was in.

"Goodbye little princess," Theodora cackled, holding up a green hand with a fire ball burning on it.

Down the hall in the royal chambers, Glinda sat up quickly. She sensed the presence of her sister. "Oz! Oz wake up!" she said, shaking her sleeping husband.

"Go back to bed, hun," Oz grumbled.

"Oz, Theodora's here!" Glinda replied sharply, ignoring her husband's complaints.

"WHAT?! That's impossible!" he argued, but he froze when he heard the witch's trademark evil laugh echo down the hall. "Or not," Oz admitted. "But what's the worst she can do? There's nobody else here except..."

They both gasped at the same time before they cried out,"MIRANDA!"

Oz ripped the blanket off of him and started to run for the door, but Glinda blocked him. "Wait! If you go in there, Theodora will know you're alive and come back full force. We have to protect our people!"

"Yes, but we also have to protect our daughter!" Oz yelled, throwing his hand in the direction of the nursery. Just then they heard a baby cry. Glinda held out her arm to stop Oz from sprinting down the hall and busting through the door to the nursery.

"I'll take care of it," Glinda assured her husband in her soft voice.

"But your powers! Your magic is still weak after giving birth to Miranda!" Oz insisted.

"I'm strong enough," Glinda insisted, her urgent tone putting a stop to any and all objections. Another cry came from down the hall, this one louder and more fearful. The two of them tensed and Oz nodded in approval of his wife's plan.

The blonde queen gave the wizard a gentle kiss on the cheek before she quietly slipped out the door. Glinda walked as quickly as she could without making any noise. Once outside the nursery, it seemed that she and Oz were not the only ones who heard the disturbance in the nursery. Finley snuck out from around a corner with Dolly on his back. Glinda placed a finger to her lips and summoned her wand.

"Theodora!" Glinda called out as the doors swung open, her normally-gentle voice cold and sharp.

"Ah sister. I was wondering when you were going to join us," the green witch laughed malevolently while she held the baby girl in her arms. "I was just telling little Miranda how her Auntie Teddy was going to burn her into a little pile of ash!" The fun yet evil smile on her face mixed with the upbeat tone made her death threat sound more like a bedtime story than anything else.

"You harm my daughter and I promise-" Glinda started her threat but could not bring herself to even say anything cruel.

"Promise what? You'll turn me into a bubble. We both know you're not wicked enough to harm anybody, not even me!" Theodora taunted.

"You leave the Princess alone, you big bully!" Dolly commanded, running into the nursery and trying to kick the witch in the leg.

Theodora cackled loudly, causing Dolly to back up to Finley in fear, before the witch mocked them again, "This is your backup? A flying rat in a butler uniform and a six inch breakable toy? What's wrong Glinda? Did your precious wizard abandon you?"

Glinda's face was hard-set, the most dangerous look she could give. "This battle is between you and me. Miranda has no part in this."

"Maybe, but taking away something you and your wizard obviously love is far more effective than killing you. So, I'll just take the baby and be on my way." Theodora started to mount her broom when she realized that the little girl had disappeared from her arm. "Where is she?!" the furious witch screeched.

Suddenly, all those in the room heard a baby giggle coming from the air right in front of them, but there was nothing there. The green witch glared at the source of the giggle and saw a ripple in the surroundings. "A disillusionment charm? Really sister? I expected more from you!" She threw her hand forward and snatched Miranda from where she was _floating midair. _Out of nowhere, a sudden white light shone right where the baby should have been. Theodora shrieked as she was temporarily blinded and Glinda took the opportunity to take her daughter back.

"You will pay for that!" the wicked witch screamed. "That cursed baby will be mine! And next time I come back for her, neither you, the wizard, or anybody else will be able to stop me because you will be begging me to take her! Don't forget, the moon is darker than the sun!" Theodora hopped on her broom and flew off, followed by a trail of black smoke.

Oz ran into the room and joined his wife in holding their daughter the second he knew it was safe.

"Oz? What color are Miranda's eyes?" Glinda asked, glancing at her husband worriedly.

"Light blue, why?"

"Not anymore," she responded.

Oz looked down and gasped at what he saw. Little Miranda looked up at her parents and giggled with her big toothless grin. But her eyes had changed color. They were now sparkly gold and reflective silver.

"Oz, I think the land of Oz has a new witch," Glinda said proudly yet somewhat shakily.

"What do you mean?" the wizard questioned.

"The eclipse. On top of being the daughter of a witch and a 'wizard', Miranda was born on a solar eclipse, at the exact moment that the moon blocked the sun. Hence, she absorbed the power of both. When Theodora tried to take her away, Miranda not only flew out of her arms, but she turned invisible. Then, when Theodora tried again, Miranda's whole body radiated with a blinding light. Our little girl is the Good Witch of the Moon and Sun."

Finley, Dolly, Oz, and Glinda looked at the infant princess with pride and amazement. But Theodora's warning lingered in the back of Glinda's head.

**Okay, so that's chapter one. Review and maybe I'll write again soon**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey y'all! Well, I got plenty of reviews asking me to continue the story, so I decided to comply. However, one guest reviewer did not like my story because I did not give a detailed description of how Miranda was conceived. That's just not my thing and nobody should expect any lemons in this story. Why do you think my story isn't rated M?**

**Disclaimer: yeah...I don't own Oz or any other characters except for Miranda.**

Miranda grew up with a relatively normal childhood, well, as normal as it could be when you were a princess, a witch, and stuck inside the castle walls 24/7. Oz and Glinda were so afraid of Theodora's threat that they tripled the guards and kept their daughter protected at all times. She only came outside for royal public appearances. But with those few peeks, the people of Oz fell in love with her, especially the boys as she got older.

As a child, Miranda's hair was a fine blonde, just like her mother's. However, it darkened as she aged, making her look more and more like her father, but, at the same time, more like her aunts with each passing day. Luckily, the changes stopped before her appearance became too much like that of the Wicked Witches. With her long, slightly-wavy, chestnut brown hair, silver and gold eyes, and fair skin, **(AN think of Annabeth from the Lightning Thief movie but with different eyes)** Miranda's beauty paralleled that of Glinda.

Unfortunately, Miranda's popularity did not go unnoticed by Theodora and Evanora. Each envied the princess for something she couldn't control: Theodora for Oz's love (who she still believed was an all-powerful wizard) and Evanora for youthful attractiveness. If not for the inpenetrable security surrounding Emerald City at all times, the witches would have eliminated their niece years before.

The Wicked Witches of the East and West were not the only ones unhappy with the constant protection. Miranda hated being trapped **(AN I know this sounds like The Little Mermaid 2 with Melody always trying to go to the ocean, but trust me, this'll be different)**. Finally, the week before her eighteenth birthday, Miranda finally got her chance to see her kingdom.

_{o}five days until full moon- Emerald City throne room{o}_

"Dad?" the seventeen year old princess called out as she poked her head into the throne room. However, with the way she was dressed, nobody would think of the teenage girl as the Princess of Oz. She was wearing khaki cargo pants, a cropped black tank top, and black combat boots with her brown hair tied up in a high ponytail with a red bandanna wrapped around her forehead. As soon as she stepped into the room, she was greeted by a huge explosion and the giant smoke head of her father.

"WHO DARES DISTURB THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ?!" the huge head bellowed.

Miranda crossed her arms and rolled her eyes before she walked across the room to the the throne and pulled down on the gilded rope hanging on the edge of the wall circling the golden throne.

"FOR I AM THE MOST MAGICAL AND THE MOST-" the wall slid to the side to reveal a middle-aged brunette man with a fake beard hovering over a projector and yelling into a microphone. He continued his introduction even though he was fully visible.

"Dad, it's me, and you know I can see you, right?" the girl said skeptically.

"NO YOU CAN'T! BECAUSE I AM IMMORTAL AND I AM INVISIBLE!"

"Dad, stop. You're embarassing yourself." **(AN tell me if you know where these two lines are from)**

"Worth a shot," the magician replied, stepping out from his control room. It was then that he took in his daughter's attire. "What are you wearing?"

Miranda looked down at her outfit in confusion. "Just something from my closet. Why, what's wrong with it?"

"You look like you're going camping or playing capture the flag, not preparing to run an entire kingdom."

"What does it matter? They only see me four or five times a year, and when they do, I'm all dressed up to fit their definition of a princess. And on top of that, how can I be ready to rule when I've never set foot outside the palace?!"

Oz looked down in guilt. Miranda knew that her father was a fake, but she was under the impression that it was for the sake of the people. Oz and Glinda had never told their daughter about the Wicked Witches and the break-in when she was a baby. They wanted to believe that Theodora and Evanora would never show their faces again, so the king and queen did their best to remove the two sisters from the memories of the people, especially from those of the princess. Like any good parents, Oz and Glinda wanted to keep their daughter safe, which to them meant the less she knew the better.

"Honey, I've told you-"

"I know, I know. You're doing it for my own protection because you know what's best for me because you love me and blahbity blahbity blah."

"More or less," Oz responded with a shrug.

"Dad, come on! I'll be eighteen in a week and you promised that you would let me go out by then!" Miranda argued.

"What?! I don't remember making that promise! When did I make that promise?!" Oz stuttered.

"On my thirteenth birthday when I asked for permission to go out for the gazillionth time!"

"Uh, answer does not compute. Um...no one can see the Wizard!" Oz ducked behind the wall and pulled the curtan to cover his face.

Miranda, with her arms still crossed, pulled down on the curtain drawstring, ignoring her father hiding behind his hands. "I'm telling you, I need fresh air, sunshine, you know, stuff that comes from nature."

Oz stepped back out into the main room, sighed deeply, and rubbed the area between his eyes. "Yes, but there are things outside that are way too dangerous for you to face."

"But Dad, I've gotten control of my powers now! Watch." Miranda lifted her arms over her head and touched her wrists together. She opened her eyes, both eyes shining silver, and whispered, "_LUNARIS_!" A shadow seemed to appear around the girl while little waves of silver magic swirled out of her fingers. The shadow and the waves disappeared as she turned invisible and looked at her father. If Miranda was visible, Oz would have seen her head circle sassily as she said, "Ya see, now this is invisible."

"That's definitely an improvement, but how are your sunbeams? I still have scorchmarks in my favorite cloak from the last time you tried those."

Miranda crossed her arms and pouted. "Knuk should know by now not to blow that horn while I'm practicing!"

"Ok then, show me what you've got. Oh, wait!" Oz ran behind the throne and ducked. "Alright, continue."

"Nice to know I have such a supportive dad who has so much faith in me," Miranda muttered sarcastically.

"I do have faith in you, sweetheart. It just would not look good if the mighty Wizard had a burn hole in the middle of his face."

The teenager felt the anger boil in her veins, but she took a deep breath to calm down, knowing that emotional stress was not a good combination with magic. Miranda swirled her hands up from her sides to above her head. White-gold magic sparkled from her fingertips. Her head snapped up, both eyes entirely golden, no other colors showing at all.

"_SOLIS_!" she screamed, looking quite intimidating with her gold eyes, sparking hands, and hair flying up behind her. Suddenly, her light fizzled and her solar aura died out. "Dang!" Miranda snapped under her breath. "I thought I had it that time!"

"Look on the plus side," Oz replied as he came out from behind the throne to pat his daughter on the shoulder. "That was the longest you've been able to hold your sunbeams...and nobody lost their eyebrows this time."

Against her will, Miranda chuckled at her dad's joke. "Well maybe if I had my power channeller like Mom and her wand, I could have better control."

Oz gave a small laugh and grinned at his little girl. "You'll have to talk to your mother about that. Any other progress?"

"My moon spells have come a lot easier than my sun spells. Why is that?"

"Well you were born on a solar eclipse, when the moon fully blocked the sun, hence you have a stronger connection with the moon. Do not worry though. They'll come in eventually. Besides, the sun is fiery and cannot be contained; the moon is darker but easier to submit to power. I don't fully understand myself, considering my only magic is that of a con-man. I still don't think you're ready though to go out."

"I am so ready to go out on my own. Please Daddy." Miranda made her eyes as big as possible and stuck out her bottom lip.

Oz groaned. He could never say no to his baby's puppy dog face. "Fine! Tomorrow morning you can go into town, but that's it!"

"Oh thank you Daddy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Miranda jumped for joy before she gave her dad a big hug. "You're the best!" She kissed him on the cheek and ran out of the room gleefully before she popped her head back in and stated, "And if you try to have me followed by anybody, I'll tell the whole kingdom about your secret! Alright, bye!"

"My daughter, the princess with the magic tongue. Wish I had her back in my carnival days. She would have been able to convince them to stop criticizing my act," Oz thought out loud as he put his hands on his hips.

**Happy Spring Break and Happy early-Easter everybody! You like, I continue. Peace out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Miranda, Oz, Glinda, and I are back for round three of this story. Thank you to all my reviewers, alerters, and favorite-rs. **

**Disclaimer: do I look like L. Frank Baum?! (Thats a rhetorical question people!)**

_{o} five days until full moon- Emerald City royal chambers {o}_

Oz dragged his feet wearily into his and Glinda's bedroom. He sighed deeply as he plopped down on to the sette in front of his bed. Just then, his wife popped in... literally...because she controlled water and could ride around in a bubble.

Glinda's smile weakened when she saw her husband in his "Why me?" position. She approached Oz and put her hand on his shoulder as she sat down next to him on the cushioned bench.

"What is it this time, sweetheart?" Glinda asked quietly, giving him a small, sad smile for comfort.

"Miranda...again," Oz answered without taking his head out of his hands.

"What's wrong?! Is she okay?!"

"She's fine," Oz sighed deeply as he sat up and turned to look at the witch. "But she managed to persuade into letting her go out on her own tomorrow."

Glinda let out a deep breath as she lowered her head, shaking it slightly.

"Glinda, I can't take it back. If I do, she'll hate us forever. Either we give her our permission to see the land, or she'll run away and do it on her own."

"Why could she not wait until she was older?" the queen questioned, more to herself than to Oz.

"Because Miranda is a teenage girl. She should be worrying about clothes and shoes, not the future of a kingdom that she has never even set foot in."

"Oz, Miranda is not just a teenage girl," Glinda corrected. "She is also a witch-in-training and a princess. I know how she feels. The only difference is that I had two sisters to play with, hence I never felt lonely. At least, not until Evanora killed Father. But nonetheless, Miranda has never met anybody her own age. Maybe if she does go out, she will meet some friends and then she will feel satisfied with staying inside the palace."

"Or maybe she'll continue to beg us to let her out again and again because she'll want to see the people she meets. There are infinite possibilities of what will happen the minute she steps outside the castle grounds."

"Oz, are you saying you do not trust your own daughter?" Glinda said warily.

"No! I mean yes! I mean...I don't know what I mean!" Oz stammered angrily.

Both the king and the queen looked to the painting of the three of them after Miranda's first birthday.

"Enough about that," Oz dismissed. "How was your trip to the munchkin villages? Did you learn anything new?"

"There was no news on Theodora and Evanora's attacks. They have not tried anything in at least six months. But, I did pick up something." Glinda reached into her sparkly gold satchel that she always brought with her when she left the Emerald City. She pulled out two delicate-looking armbands. Oz immediately realized what they were.

The bracelets were unique because they started off silver and ended gold, melted together in the middle where on one was the gold and silver design of a sun and one the other was the gold and silver design of a crescent moon. The carvings in the armbands were so intricately cut.

"The Master Tinker's cousin works as a jeweler in the north, so I asked him to make these for Miranda," Glinda stated as she held the dainty bracelets in her hands.

"How long did this take him?" Oz asked in disbelief as he continued to stare at the jewelry.

"About two months, but I still need a week to enchant them."

"Miranda was just asking about when she would get her magical item. I told her to talk to you about it."

Glinda sighed. "Oz, remember when Evanora told you to break my wand to destroy me?"

The wizard nodded grimly.

"That's because my power source controls both my powers and my lifeline. If you had snapped my wand, I would have died, or at least spent my short remaining life weak and powerless."

"But you crushed Evanora's necklace and she just turned into an old hag," Oz argued.

"That's because it was more of an anti-aging charm than a power source, but her powers are gone too. I am just afraid of tying Miranda's lifeline to something so fragile," Glinda looked down at the bracelets with worry in her eyes.

"I don't think we have any other choice," Oz replied. "Without these she won't be able to fully protect herself. I trust that she'll take good care of them once we explain to her what they are."

Glinda sighed and rested her head on her husband's shoulder. Oz draped his arm over his wife's shoulders as they looked down at the armsbands that were still in Glinda's hands.

A knock on the door interrupted the couple's moment of silence. Oz cleared his throat and yelled in his deep wizard voice, "WHO DARES INTERRUPT THE MIGHTY WIZARD?!"

"It's Knuk, so you can drop the act!" the short man shouted irritably through the bedroom door.

"Oh Knuk, come in," Oz insisted in his regular tone.

The munchkin stomped into the chambers, his horn held at his side. "I wanted to tell you that Princess Miranda almost set fire to the hat of one of the guards outside her room and he's dragging her down here right now to insist punishment."

Oz groaned. "Just stop them before they reach the door, assure the guard that it will never happen again, and then escort Miranda back to her room before she causes anymore trouble. Tell her that it's time for her to go to sleep. She has a big day tomorrow."

**Sorry it's so short and it took so long. I had a few issues with the internet and coming up with what to say. This is sort of a filler chapter. The next one will be Miranda's visit to the kingdom. Don't forget to review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey y'all! I'm back and ready for the next round of Miranda's story. I had less reviews for my last chapter than any other chapter, which kind of bummed me out...but oh well! Nothing serious really happened in that last chapter, it was really just a filler anyway. Just don't forget to review at the end of this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Oz the Great and Powerful...because it has not come out to DVD yet.**

_{o}four days until full moon- Princess Miranda's bedroom{o}_

Miranda stared at the open door of her closet, her expression frozen in thought. It was hard for her to figure out what to wear. If she wore any of the dresses that she had, she would immediately be recognized as the princess. But if she wore any of her casual clothes, she would stick out even more.

Miranda scratched her head, pondering even more. How did the women of the village normally dress when she greeted them from the balcony those five times each year? Well it really depended on the time of year since she saw them on the spring equinox, summer solstice, autumn equinox, winter solstice, and of course, her birthday. Lightbulb moment! They wore skirts, blouses, and dresses at her birthday celebration! The princess began digging through her wardrobe for some simple skirts and shirts.

Five minutes later, Miranda inspected her reflection in her full-length mirror and nodded in approval. She had on a fitted white shirt with three quarter length sleeves that billowed out at the end. She also wore a low slung brown belt and a loose blue ankle length skirt that was casual but flowy enough so she could run without any problems. She slipped on her favorite white midcalf lace-up boots that had a nice 1.5 inch heel.

The second she closed her closet door, Miranda's maids rushed into the room to do her hair like they always did. They picked up the front sections of the girl's chestnut brown hair and tied them back into a french braid around the area where Miranda would normally wear her crown. The maids let the rest of her wavy hair hang loose down to just above the middle of her back.

The maids left the room as quickly as they had entered it and Miranda proceeded to apply her makeup. She added some light eyeshadow before she threw on eyeliner and mascara. The princess finished off with some clear lip gloss before she picked up her light blue cloak and exited the room.

_{o}four days until full moon- Emerald City throne room{o}_

Glinda sat properly on the arm of Oz's throne while her husband paced frantically around the room. The witch, of course, was worried sick about letting her baby go out into the kingdom alone, but Oz was an emotional wreck, so Glinda had to play the part of the calm parent so both of them wouldn't go crazy.

"Oz, honey, stop pacing. You're burning a hole in the floor," Glinda insisted teasingly.

But the wizard was too upset to pay attention to what she said. "But what if she gets kidnapped?! What if some boy takes advantage of her?! What if Theodora returns?! What if-"

"Oscar!" the queen cried out.

Oz was snapped out of his state by his wife's unusually loud volume. He whipped his head toward the throne to stare at his wife in shock, making it clear that she now had the man's attention.

Glinda gracefully stepped down from her seat on the edge of the throne. She descended the stairs from the golden chair to stand in front of the king. "Sweetheart, I know you're scared - trust me, I am too - but walking in circles and tossing out every possible dangerous scenario is not going to assure our daughter's safety. What we have to do is let Miranda know that we trust her and have faith that she will be able to handle herself."

Oz stared into the witch's big brown eyes, knowing in his heart that she was correct, but Theodora's threat kept echoing in his mind. He sighed. "You're right...as always," he admitted. "Which is why I fell in love with you."

Glinda smiled. She kissed him softly on the lips before he kissed her back. Nothing heated or passionate, just affectionate and loving.

It was then that Miranda entered the room, right in the middle of her parents kissing session. "Ahem," she coughed, interrupting their moment. "Should I come back later, or what?" the princess asked playfully.

"Miranda!" Oz exclaimed, caught off guard by the girl's sudden appearance.

"No no it's cool. Go back to what you were doing." Miranda slowly proceeded to back out of the room before her dad could try to back out of his promise. "I'll just head out now." She turned around quickly and was about to bolt out of the palace when she was stopped.

"Not so fast, young lady," Oz ordered in his parental tone.

Miranda, whose back was still to the adults, flinched as she thought, "_So close_." She turned back around with her best innocent grin plastered on her face. The girl walked quickly over to her parents and said, "Yes Daddy?"

"You can cut the face, Andy, I'm not going back on my word."

Miranda let out a deep breath of relief and returned to her regular smile.

"That's my girl," Oz replied, beaming at how naturally gifted his baby was at conning people. The father and daughter did their special handshake and broke out laughing at the end.

Glinda watched her husband, seeing how different of a man Oz was from the egotistical, greedy, insensitive womanizer he was when he originally came to the land. She stepped forward and touched her hand to Oz's arm. "Honey, I have to leave soon and I want to assure that Miranda has made it to town before then."

"Oh! Right, sorry!" Oz stammered. He took a step back to allow room for Glinda between himself and the teenager.

"Miranda, your eyes are famous throughout the kingdom...I don't want to risk anybody recognizing you because of them. The whole point of you going out on your own is that you can experience the life of an ordinary person, so you can meet the village people without them treating you like the princess. Observe their daily routines, listen to their comments, connect with them. This trip will make you a more understanding queen in the future. Now, as for the eyes."

Glinda raised her wand and waved it in a circle around Miranda's face. As the sparkles faded, the gold and silver gave way to the magic, and Miranda's eyes shone a brilliant ocean blue. The girl rushed over to a suit of armor and stared at the blue-eyed brunette looking back at her.

"I figured, considering your outfit, that blue was your color," Glinda stated warmly as she appeared in the reflection behind Miranda.

Miranda turned back to her mother and wrapped her arms around the woman joyfully. Glinda hugged her back.

Oz stepped up the join the two. "Have you chosen your name and background in case someone asks?"

"I would say Andy but it's too close to Miranda. How about one of my middle names?"

Oz looked up pensively. "That might work. It would sound a lot more coincidental than having the same first name as the princess."

"But still too close," Glinda debated. "In Oz, nobody ever names their children after the royal family, even their middle names."

"How about Dawn?" Miranda suggested. "It comes between the sun and the moon, but only if you really thought about that would you come to that conclusion, and I would be long gone."

"Sounds good to me," Oz agreed. "Glinda?"

"I think it's a lovely name. What about your backstory?"

"I've got it all worked out. My parents are travelling merchants and we're visiting for the day and we spent the night at my aunt and uncle's farm on the outskirts of the village."

"It seems to me like you've been preparing for this for more than one night," Oz responded, giving his daughter a knowing look.

"You got that right!" Miranda said proudly. "I've been waiting for this day for years. Speaking of which, we're burning daylight. Let's go!"

"Okay then. Follow the yellow brick road outside the castle gates straight down to the village. Keep your powers secret. You and your mother are the only good witches in the area, so they're a telltale sign. Now get going before I feel the urge to try and stop you."

Miranda hugged her parents goodbye and rushed out of the room. As she got outside and neared the gates, she turned around to see her mother and father watching from the balcony. The princess waved at them before she headed down the road.

_{o}four days until full moon- village square{o}_

Miranda couldn't stop smiling in excitement as she walked through the busy village market. The hustle and bustle of the townspeople filled her with energy. Miranda kept her cloak hood up over her head to keep anybody from recognizing her, but because of that, nobody paid any attention to the girl.

Miranda was leaning over a florist's cart to smell the delicate bouquets of flowers when she heard a loud rumbling noise. She flung her head up and saw a wooden cart flying down the cobblestone street. The horse was running at top speed and its driver was still whipping it to go faster, nearly running over people in the process.

Miranda whipped her head around to see if there was anybody hit. She didn't see anyone, but she saw a girl in the middle of the street whose foot was caught in a gutter and was about to get trampled. The princess sprinted as fast as she could up the sidewalk and leapt across the street, knocking the girl and herself over on to the other side of the road, safely out of the way of insane cart driver.

"Slow down, you jerk!" Miranda yelled after the runaway cart.

"Thank you," the girl said quietly.

"No problem," Miranda replied. "Who was that guy?"

"Duncan Crinch," the girl answered. "He thinks he owns the town and doesn't have to care about the well-being of the rest of us."

"Well why hasn't anybody reported him? I thought there were laws against reckless behavior."

"There are," the girl stated. "But nobody wants to bother the King with issues as unimportant as aggressive driving."

"_Well, I know Dad won't think of it as unimportant_," Miranda thought. "_I'll tell him as soon as I get home." _

"Are you okay?" Miranda asked the village girl.

"I'm fine, thank you." The girl tried to stand up, but the pressure on her ankle caused her to cry out in pain. Miranda caught her before she hit the ground.

"That looks swollen. It might be sprained. Here." Miranda sat the girl down and kneeled next to her, ripped off the edge of her skirt, wrapped it around the girl's ankle, pulled a bobby pin out of her hair, and fastened the wrap with it. Luckily, the girl was wearing flats, so she wouldn't have to walk around barefoot.

It was then that Miranda got a good look at the girl. She had platinum blonde hair, a lot lighter than Glinda's strawberry blonde shade, light freckles, and beautiful amethyst purple eyes.

The girl looked up at Miranda while she took care of the injury. "Have we met before? I feel like I recognize you."

"I don't think so," Miranda denied quickly, realizing that her hood had fallen back when she saved the girl. "My parents are merchants, so we travel a lot. This is my first visit to this village, but I'm only staying for today. There, that should do it." Miranda helped the girl up. "Put your arm around my shoulder. Just tell me where you need to go."

"Oh no, you don't have to-" the girl began to insist as she and Miranda turned the corner, but she was interrupted.

"Vi!" a boy about Miranda's age hollered from down the sidewalk. He grabbed another teenage boy and pulled him up the street to where Miranda and the girl were standing. "Violet, are you okay?! What happened?!"

"Crinch happened," the girl, whose name was apparently Violet, answered. "But thanks to this girl here," she gestured to Miranda, "I made it out with only a twisted ankle."

For the first time, the boys took notice of Miranda, and she of them. They were both about the same height and age, but their appearances and personality traits were totally different. The one who had originally called out to Violet had medium-length flaming red hair and spring green eyes with a splash of freckles across his cheeks. His smile was warm and friendly, but the slight blush showed that he was also a little shy.

The other one had longer, jet straight, raven black hair with chocolate brown eyes and tan skin. The way his eyes kept looking Miranda up and down combined with his cocky smirk made Miranda a little nervous. This boy looked just like Glinda's description of Oz when he first showed up: overly-confident, flirty, and overall bad-boy.

Both boys were actually pretty cute, not too bad for the first teenagers Miranda had ever met.

"Thank you for saving my sister," the redhead thanked graciously as he took Violet's arm and shifted her weight off of Miranda's shoulder and onto his. "How can we repay you..."

"Dawn," Miranda lied smoothly. "And there's no need to repay me. I just did what any person would have done in that situation."

"Still, thanks."

Miranda gave a small smile and blushed a little.

"Come on, Aden," the black haired boy said, pushing the ginger aside as he stepped forward to Miranda. "I'm sure there's a better way to thank this...lovely lady...than that. How about a date with me instead?" He wiggled his eyebrows and gave the girl a suggestive grin.

"Yeah...I'm gonna have to say no," Miranda responded. "I'll just take the thanks and be on my way." She turned on her heel and was about to head in the opposite direction when Aden called out to her.

"Dawn! Dawn, wait come back!" He sat Violet down on a box and ran over to Miranda. "Sorry about Nick. He hits on every cute girl he sees. Please, at least let me offer you our friendship." His eyes seemed so genuine.

"Why not? I could use some good friends. I've only had fake friends." Miranda mentally slapped herself and silently cursed. Had she let too much slip?

"Well then welcome to our group," Aden replied, making a grand arm gesture toward Nick and Violet. "How come we've never seen you around before?"

"My parents are travelling merchants. This is my first time to this village," Miranda stated from memory.

"That explains it. I would never forget seeing such a pretty face," Nick cut in, this time winking at Miranda.

"And I would never forget meeting such a chauvinistic pig," Miranda snapped, her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at the flirt.

"Ooh! Burn!" Aden said in a mocking voice. No girl had ever responded to Nick's lines liek that before.

"Yeah, Nick. I think you're playing out of your league," Violet teased from her seat on the box.

"Nah, she's just feisty. I like feisty. It makes the chase more fun for the hunter."

Miranda was about to throw out a sarcastic retort when a sudden cackling filled the air. People started to scream in terror as a green-skinned woman dressed in a black dress and black hat began to descend from the sky on a flying broom.

"IT'S THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST!" one of the villagepeople shrieked.

"We have to hide!" Aden shouted. "If she sees a stranger, she'll bring you back to her castle and torture you!" Aden and Nick threw Violet's arms over their shoulders and carried her into the shadow of the alley, Aden using his free arm to pull Miranda with them.

Huddled in the dark corner, Miranda poked her head out and watched in horror as the woman landed on the ground, holding a ball of fire in one hand and the broomstick in the other.

"Hello all!" she greeted in a wicked voice. "Remember me?"

**So that's chapter four. If you want to know what Miranda/Dawn is wearing, pretty much picture the outfit Anne Hathaway wore in Ella Enchanted during the scene at the mall. Kay, bye! Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey y'all! I am so sorry about the update gap. I had been on a fanfiction roll before my family and I left for vacation. Then, our vacation home had no internet and I couldn't do anything online-related from Wednesday (June 12) to Sunday (June 16) when I arrived at a college in Wellesley, MA for the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine. I found over forty emails waiting for me. I had planned on updating, but my schedule this past week and a half has been so busy that by the time I can update, I'm too exhausted. But it's finished now, I'm catching up on my sleep again, and my sleep-deprivation-caused-cold is almost gone. Anyway, on to the story. Oh, and thank you to my reviewers.**

**Disclaimer: blah, blah, blah, do not own Oz, blah, blah, blah**

_{o}four days until full moon- village square{o}_

"Hello all! Remember me?"

Miranda's face was contorted with fear. Who was this green-skinned woman?! How was she a witch?! She and her mother were the only witches...weren't they?!

Miranda tried to remember what her dad had said earlier. "_Keep your powers secret. You and your mother are the only good witches in the area, so they're a telltale sign._"

Maybe her parents had not known about this evil witch. There were infinite possibilities to consider before Miranda started pointing fingers and throwing around accusations.

The girl was pulled out of her thoughts by a sudden cackling. "Now, if my memory serves correctly, little Princess Miranda's eighteenth birthday is in less than a week, am I right?"

The villagepeople nodded and shouted out nervous assurances.

"Hmmph! I thought so. Isn't it tradition that the heir to the royal throne visits the land and its people at least once by then?! Has anybody seen this 'visit' occur?! Has anybody seen the princess on an ocassion other than the start of the seasons or her birthday?!"

The people looked down and shook their heads in shame.

"Just as I thought! The king and queen know they have a deadline, so the princess could roll through any day now. Unless any of you want to find a burned down house or market in your future, you will report any royal activity and/or young strangers to me! Immediately!"

The witch straddled her broom and flew off cackling, the black smoke trailing behind her.

Miranda let out a deep sigh of relief, realizing that she had been holding her breath the whole time the witch was there. "What just happened? Who the heck was that?!" Miranda questioned shakily.

"The Wicked Witch of the West," Nick answered without taking his eyes off the spot where the green woman had just been.

"Yeah, I gathered that much!" Miranda snapped, whipping her head around to glare at the brunette boy, who was standing just behind her.

The three teens were caught off guard by their new friend's sudden temper, and Miranda could see it written all over their faces.

"Sorry. It's just that... I don't remember ever seeing her before, but I feel like somewhere in my mind I have a fuzzy memory of that laugh. Can you please just tell me who she is?"

Aden couldn't bring himself to say no to the request. It just seemed so sincere. He sighed. "Her name's Theodora. The village elders say that before she turned evil, she was almost as kind and beautiful as Queen Glinda. The only real difference was that Theodora had much more fiery temper and a far shorter fuse. But she was still a good witch, good yet naïve."

"How could a good witch like that turn evil?" Miranda asked, enraptured by the story.

"I heard that it was because of a man," Violet interjected. "The first night the two met, he taught Theodora how to dance using something called a music box. He gave it to her as a gift and she brought him back to the palace under the impression that when she was queen someday, it would be at his side. But during that time, the oldest of the three witches in the land, Evanora, was ruling over the land of Oz as the palace advisor. She did not want to lose her position of power to anyone, especially this man. So Evanora conjured up another music box and convinced Theodora that the man had flirted with her, too. Theodora was heartbroken and turned to her sister to stop the pain. Evanora used an enchanted apple and replaced all the good in Theodora's heart with wickedness, turning her green and ugly at the same time."

"Wow," said Miranda, too shocked to say anything else.

"Yeah. Evanora was cutthroat," Nick added. "She turns one sister evil and almost kills the other one. Talk about nuts."

"Wait! Who was the other sister?"

"Queen Glinda," Aden stated.

The new knowledge was too much for the princess to take in. The sky went dark as she passed out on the sidewalk.

_{o}four days until full moon- Aden and Violet's house{o}_

"Dawn? Dawn? Come on, I know you're awake," a female voice echoed in Miranda's ears.

Miranda groaned as she opened her eyes to the unfamiliar surroundings. "Ugh. Where am I? Why does my head hurt?"

"You're in my room and you fainted," Violet answered from her seat next to the bed where Miranda was.

"Oh yeah," Miranda muttered in realization as she rubbed the lump on the back of her head. She noticed the wooden clock on the wall and gasped when she saw it was five thirty. Her parents had said she had to be back by six.

"What's wrong?! Is she okay?!" Nick exclaimed as he and Aden burst into the room.

"Don't worry, she's fine," Violet assured the two boys.

"How do you feel, Dawn?" Aden asked gently as he kneeled down next to the bed.

"A little groggy, but that wasn't why I freaked just then. I had forgotten that I'm supposed to meet my parents in less than a half hour."

"Oh, where are you supposed to meet up?" Violet inquired.

"Um, the town gates."

"We can take you there and while we do, you can tell us about what happened back there," Nick offered. He and and Aden helped pull Miranda up off the bed and on to her feet.

"Oh it's nothing," Miranda dismissed, taking a second to settle her dizziness. "That was just all new info to me. My parents had never told me about any of that."

"Well then they were obeying the law. King Oz and Queen Glinda did their best to keep people from talking about the wicked witches, which was pretty easy considering Evanora is a powerless, old hag living in the east and Theodora almost never shows her face outside of her castle in the west."

The teens kept talking as they walked to the gates.

"Here we are," Aden said as they reached the edge of the village. "I wish it was for more than a day, but it was nice meeting you and hanging out with you."

Miranda blushed at how genuine the redhead was being.

"Next time you're in town, maybe we can hook up," Nick proposed as he kissed the girl's hand, looking up so she could see him biting his lip suggestively.

"Yeah and 'maybe' I can tie you to a tree in the dark forest and leave you there to be arrested for sexual harassment," Miranda retorted as she pulled her hand out of Nick's and crossed her arms over her chest.

Violet, Aden, and Miranda laughed as they watched Nick's over-sized ego deflate just a little bit.

"You know, I might be able to convince my parents to stay for a little while longer. I've, uh, never seen the princess in person before."

"That would be fantastic!" Violet cried out. "We could spend time together again tomorrow!"

"Wait, where are your parents?" Aden questioned. "I thought you said you were meeting them here."

"Oh they're probably running late in the Emerald City. I'll just go find their booth. Bye!" Miranda ran off toward the entrance through the walls surrounding the palace and the city encompassing it. She waved at her friends as she continued running.

"_That was too close,_" the princess thought to herself. "_Now for the hard part - convincing Mom and Dad to let me out again tomorrow." _

**I know this is a short chapter, but I wanted to put it out there before it was too late. Review and I love you all for waiting so long!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey y'all! Now this is pretty much a filler chapter, but it is absolutely necessary for the next one! Oh, and in case you're confused, I changed the time until Miranda's birthday and also the age. She is now turning eighteen instead of sixteen. Now that that's all cleared up, let's get to it. **

**Disclaimer: I own the teenagers in this story and that's about it**

_{o}four days until full moon- Emerald City __dining room{o}_

"Please?" Miranda begged.

"No," Oz answered, picking up a piece of fillet mignon with his fork.

"Please?!" Miranda tried again, her hands clasped together

"No!" Oz denied, his eyes at half-mast, casually putting the meat into his mouth.

Miranda sighed, her face taking on a bored look. Time for her to pull out the big guns. She stood up from her chair at the dining table, stepped to the side, and jumped up and down while she screamed, "PLEASE?! PLEASE?! PLEASE?! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Oz covered his ears at his daughter's deafening but admittedly impressive lung capacity, but Glinda watched with an unfazed expression.

"Miranda Kiara Avalon Celeste!" the queen scolded, acting in a strict parental manner while still maintaining her kind self. "Sit down right now!"

Miranda obediently plopped into her chair.

"Throwing tantrums may have worked as a child, but you are now a young lady, a princess, a future queen! You are turning eighteen in less than a week and that night, at exactly midnight, you will accept your role as Crown Princess of Oz! I expect you to act as such. No more immature behavior."

Miranda turned toward Oz and put on her most powerful puppy dog face. "Pleeeeeeaaaaaase?!"

Oz felt his strength weaken as he started to give in to his daughter's pleas. "Glinda-"

"NO!" Glinda insisted, not as vulnerable to Miranda's face as Oz.

Miranda sighed again before she slouched in her chair. Suddenly, she had a lightbulb moment. Her face took on a sly look as she looked at both of her parents. "Well, I hoped I wouldn't have to resort to this, but I see you leave me no choice... Daddy, you promised me one day, am I correct?"

"Oh no! I know where this is going," Oz groaned.

"Answer the question," the teenager pressed.

"Okay, that's correct, but that one day was today."

"Not exactly," Miranda replied with a smirk. "Technically one day means twenty four hours and, since I was only outside for twelve hours, I did not get a full day." **(AN sorry about the interruption, but just pretend that Miranda went into the village around 6 am, met Violet and the boys around noon, and got back to the palace around 6 pm).**

"But-"

"Am I right or wrong?" Miranda questioned.

"Well technically-"

"Am I right or wrong?" the girl repeated, her eyes narrowing this time.

"Fine! You're right!" Oz exclaimed, throwing his arms up in exasperation. "Glinda, did we give birth to a princess or a lawyer?!"

"Oz, you did not give birth to her. I did. And I am rather positive that I gave birth to a princess...a princess who just happens to have genes from a smooth-talking conman." Glinda gave her husband a pointed look. "However, I have to admit, she does make a valid point. I have never been one to argue with logic."

"Well, I guess that's it, then," the king responded. "Is there anything else Her Royal Highness would like to debate?"

"Nope. Nothing left to argue, but I do have a question. Are there laws prohibiting reckless driving and dangerous behavior in the kingdom?"

"Oh!" Oz was caught off guard by the seriousness of his daughter's inquiry. "Why, yes, of course. Why do you ask?"

"I witnessed a cart driver almost run over a girl in the village this morning. Her foot was stuck in between some cobblestones and the man only sped up. I knocked the girl out of the way and she told me that the driver, a man by the name of Duncan Crinch, has always been like that, but nobody has reported him because they feel like it would be inconveniencing you."

"Oh my goodness! Were you injured?!" Glinda asked, her voice full of concern.

"I wasn't, but the girl sprained her ankle. Luckily, I was able to wrap it up and deliver her to her brother."

"Well that explains the missing strip of fabric from your outfit," Glinda pointed out as she, Oz, and Miranda looked down at the witch-in-training's ripped skirt from underneath the white tablecloth.

"Thank you for telling me about this, Andy," Oz commented as he nodded his head at Miranda. "I will address this issue immediately. But, on a good note, how was the rest of your day? You haven't even told us what you did." He took another bite of his food, but gave her a look of interest.

"Well, I spent the first half of the day just wandering around. Then I met the girl's brother and friend and I hung out with them the rest of the day." Miranda decided to leave out the part about the Wicked Witch of the West. If her parents heard about that, they would never let her see the light of day ever again. Besides, the princess wanted to do a little more research before she started accusing the people who raised her of lying.

"That is wonderful to hear," the queen replied with a smile.

"If that's everything, may I be excused?" Miranda requested. "I want to get into bed so I can wake up early tomorrow."

"Of course, dear," Glinda answered. "We well see you tomorrow, bright and early."

Miranda left her silverware on her plate, folded her napkin next to the plate and left for her room.

"Oz, why do you look troubled?" the enchantress asked. "Miranda said her day was wonderful."

"Something seemed a little off about her. Did you notice how vague she was when we asked for details?"

"Sweetheart, she is seventeen years old. If she wants to keep her personal life to herself, then it's none of our business."

"Alright," the man grumbled. "But I still feel like she's hiding something."

The couple continued to eat in silence until Oz's face snapped up, his eyes wide with alarm.

"What if she saw Theodora found her and cast a spell on her?! What if Miranda found out about the truth?!"

"Oz, honey, calm down. She would have come to us first. Besides, we will have to tell her the truth someday. I had hoped it would not come so soon, but her eighteenth birthday approaches, and we promised after Theodora broke in that we would tell her by then."

"But what if we tell her and then she refuses to accept her role as crown princess because we hid it from her?!"

"We just have to accept the consequences for lying to her and hope she understands that we did it out of love for her. I trust our daughter, and I know you do, too...so it's high time you start acting like it." Glinda left her napkin on the table, just like Miranda, and left Oz with more than just his steak to digest.

**Sorry it's so short. I was at cheer camp and, just like the last chapter, I did not have much time to write. Review and day 2 of "Dawn" is next.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey y'all! Look, I have to go back to school in less than a week, so let's get this chapter out there before I do. This one is rated T. Oh, and PS, I use a section of lines from an episode of Suite Life of Zack and Cody (First Day of High School (oh the irony)).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Oz because if I did...?...you know, I don't think I would really change much of anything. Go figure**

_{o}three days until full moon- Princess Miranda's bedroom{o}_

"No."

A yellow dress flew out of the closet.

"No."

A brown skirt was thrown out, too.

"No."

A purple peasant blouse followed it.

_Knock, knock._

"Ugh! Come in!" Miranda shouted from her massive closet, where she was currently covered in clothes and looking very disgruntled.

Beatrice, one of the palace maids, entered the royal chambers. She was about the same age as Miranda, but very petite and almost fairy-like with curly, dark red hair that went just past her ears, freckles, and blue eyes.

"Um, Princess?" Beatrice called out.

"In here!" Miranda hollered, waving her hand outside the closet to signal Beatrice over.

"Your Highness, the queen wanted me to let you know that the weather today will be warmer than yesterday, so she suggests a shorter skirt and a short-sleeved shirt paired with flats."

"Thank you, Beatrice," the witch-in-training replied. "Would you care to give me a hand in picking some out?"

The servant gasped at the honor. "I would love to, Milady!"

"But," Miranda added, sticking her pointer finger out of the closet, her face very serious. "I have one condition."

Beatrice lowered her head sadly. She knew it was too good to be true. "Yes, Your Highness?"

Miranda abandoned her stern mask and replaced it with a kind, friendly grin. "Call me Miranda."

Beatrice visibly relaxed at the request.

"All those other titles just aren't me...well, they're me, but the're the political PA me. Wait, that came out wrong! Ugh! Never mind! Just help me out in here!"

"Right away, Prin- I mean, Miranda."

"Ooh! Can I help, too?" came the sweet little voice of Dolly, who had just popped in the room. Because she was a china doll, Dolly aged much more slowly than normal people. Even though it had been exactly twenty years since Oz found her (and she had been about nine then), she had only reached fourteen in china years. Four human years was approximately one china year.

"Sure! The more the merrier!"

With the help of Beatrice and Dolly, within fifteen minutes, Miranda stood all ready to go. She was dressed in a flowy, emerald green, knee-length skirt; a loose, but form-fitting, mint blouse; and black ballet flats with a half-inch-heel. Her hair was tied back into a simple braid down her back and, even though it didn't match her outfit perfectly, she still brought along her blue cloak from the day before.

_{o}three days until full moon- village square{o} _

After saying goodbye to her parents and having Glinda reapply the glamour charm on her eyes, Miranda had left for the village. This time, it seemed much less overwhelming.

Until...

Miranda was admiring a blue and green beaded necklace at a jeweler's display when she heard the cry of a little boy.

"Hey! Give it back!" a young brown-haired boy shrieked as he jumped to grab a box wrapped in brown paper and string from a tall, bulky teenage boy with messy, dirty blonde hair. "That's my Mama's birthday present! It took me months to save that money!"

"Well then it's probably a piece of junk!" the bully jeered. "I'm doin' your Ma a favor! And speakin' of junk..." The teenager then picked up the boy and shoved him into the garbage can. He and his cronies began to laugh and point at the poor victim.

Miranda dropped the necklace back on the stand and stormed over to the alley, pushing aside a few kids who were watching the whole scene go down.

"Hey!" Miranda exclaimded as she shoved the bully's shoulder to get his attention. "What are you doing picking on some little kid?!"

The boy tried to rock himself out of the trash can, but only succeeded in dropping to his knees and crawling around with the container stuck on his rear end, looking like a garbage turtle.

"Looks like somebody's got a little junk in their trunk!" the bully teased.

The boy, who looked like he was on the verge of tears, proceeded to crawl around the center of the gathered circle, shaking his butt in an attempt to get the can to fall off.

The seriously pissed-off witch could feel her magic boiling inside her and sparking from her fingertips. Every part of her body was about to explode from holding it all in. It took everything she had to NOT burn this jerk into a sun-scorched crisp. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!" Miranda said as she stepped in closer to the bully, the top of her head just barely reaching his chin.

"Like who?!" the bully challenged as he took an intimidating step toward Miranda.

Miranda, not even slightly scared, pulled off her cloak and tossed it to the side before she answered, "Like me!" She kicked him hard right between the legs.

"Ooowww!" the bully whimpered as he keeled over to hold his you-know-whats.

"See, now we're about the same height," Miranda pointed out in a chipper voice, using her hand to compare where their heads reached.

"Oh, I'm gonna get you!" the bully threatened, but considering his voice was a little squeaky from where he got kicked, it was hard to take him seriously.

"Yeah...I don't think so!" Miranda dismissed, turning on her heel to walk over to the little boy, nobody noticing as her eyes momentarily flashed gold.

"Hey! I'm stuck!" the bully cried out, his deep voice returning.

"You must've stepped on some tar or somethin'," one of his two buddies guessed as they tried to pull him off the ground.

Indeed, with the help of some quick rays from the sun, Miranda had melted the soles of the bully's shoes to the sidewalk.

The princess smirked at her handiwork as she pulled the trash can off of the boy. She kneeled down next to him. "Are you okay?" Miranda asked kindly.

"I-I think so," he murmured.

"What's your name?"

"J-Johnny."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Johnny. My name's Dawn." Miranda felt guilty for lying to Johnny, but she had no choice.

"Nice to meet you, too, but that bully still has Mama's gift."

Miranda whipped her head around, her blue eyes flashing. "Don't worry, sweetie. I'll get it back," she promised as she glanced back at the boy.

Miranda then looked straight forward at you and whispered, "Warning, readers, do not try this at home."

She stood up and directly faced the bully, who had finally managed to free himself from the ground by taking off his shoes, so now he was just standing barefoot.

"Hey ugly!" Miranda hollered. "Hand over Johnny's present, or else!"

"Or else what?! Why would I take orders from a girl?! Besides, it's mine now and I'm gonna keep it! I'm not scared of you!"

Miranda chuckled darkly. "I don't know...you seemed pretty scared of me when I gave you that kick. And speaking of which, I lowered your chances of having kids even more with that."

The teenagers still watching oohed at the girl's courage, and laughed at how red the bully's face got from both humiliation and rage. One kid held out his hand for Miranda to high-five, and soon, everybody was trying to high-five her.

"Bryce, you can't hit a girl!" one of the two members of the bully's entourage insisted.

"I'll make an exception!" Bryce growled as he glared at Miranda.

He stomped over and slapped Miranda right across the face, knocking her down to the ground. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth and she could feel her cheek start to swell. She tried to get up, but the bully kicked her in the side, leaving her cornered against the wall of the alley.

"I'll show you what happens to those who bruise the family pride and reputation!" Bryce lifted Miranda off the ground by her shirt and raised his fist.

Miranda closed her eyes and braced herself for impact, but none came. She opened one eye to see a familiar redheaded boy holding back Bryce's arm.

"Leave her alone!" Aden ordered the bully, his voice even but his face hard-set with anger. "Besides, you're outnumbered."

Miranda saw that Aden spoke the truth. Standing right behind him were Nick and Violet, both equally ticked. That made the teams four to three.

Bryce shrugged off his restraint.

"And the village guards are on their way. Would you like to join your Daddy in jail?" Violet pressed.

Both of the cronies' eyes widened. The bully let go of Miranda's shirt, allowing her to stabilize herself on her feet, and threw the brown papered box at Johnny. He started to retreat, but then he whipped around, his fist flying straight at Miranda's face. But the witch was somewhat prepared this time. Her eyes flashed silver as she conjured up an invisible shield. Bryce's fist collided directly with the strong-as-steel shield.

He pulled back as he let out a howl of pain, but he freaked when he couldn't see what broke his hand. "This chick's a freak! Let's get outta here!" Bryce and his bully buddies sprinted out of the alley, but he stopped at the end to yell, "Once I marry Princess Miranda, you will all pay!" He ran away in surrender. The crowd applauded and cheered before they too abandoned the alley.

"Thank you, Dawn!" Johnny thanked graciously, picking up his present before he ran out, too.

"Dawn! Dawn, are you okay?!" Aden asked in a rushed tone.

Miranda stumbled around dizzily, one hand on her forehead, her eyes aimlessly looking around in circles. "Did anybody catch the number of the carriage that hit me?" she replied in a dazed voice. The combination of the hits, the comment about marriage, and the amount of magic she used to conjure up a shield strong enough to block a hit that powerful was a pretty taxing to a seventeen year old girl.

"How did he break his fist like that?" Nick inquired. "Did you duck your head to let him punch the wall, or something?"

"Maybe," Miranda answered before she quickly changed the subject. "But what was that thing about marrying the Princess? And how would he possibly be able to do that if his father was in jail? And who is his father?"

"Whoa! Slow down there! One question at a time," Violet joked. "Remember that guy Duncan Crinch from yesterday?"

"How could I forget?" Miranda said with a weak laugh.

"Yeah, well, last night after you left, Emerald City guards showed up and arrested Crinch under the charges of reckless driving and lawless behavior. That bully is Bryce Crinch, Duncan Crinch's son," Aden explained

"Well that explains why he was so cranky. Now I see where he gets it from," Miranda commented. "But that still doesn't explain why he would marry me-I mean Miranda." Luckily, nobody caught her slip-up.

"Remember how I said Crinch always acted like he ruled the town?" Violet questioned.

"Yeah?"

"The Crinch family is one of the village nobles, but only by title because they wasted most of their wealth away, so Bryce grew up under the impression that he would marry the Princess because of his nobility and then his family would be rich again and he would have 'the hot princess worshiping me and-'" Violet stopped when she saw the disgusted, horrified, and traumatized look on Miranda's face.

"That image is now burned into my mind for the rest of my mind!" Miranda stated with a shudder.

"Hey, no teenage boy in the village can deny having fantasies involving Princess Miranda," Nick added. "I know I have." He zoned out and grinned in pleasure.

"Moving on," Aden cut off, pulling Nick out of his daydreams and saving Miranda from another haunting mental image. "Dawn, are you ready for another day with us, providing you don't faint again?"

"All set! What do you guys have planned for today?"

**Don't worry I have more planned that I was actually going to focus on, but then I got to the bully idea and I decided to run with it. I apologize for the slightly suggestive parts, but she's almost eighteen. I have fifteen-year-old friends who talk about that stuff all the time. Kinda awkward in my opinion, but I know it happens. Coming up next, Miranda learns a little bit more about magic. Review and expect another update in the next four weeks! **


End file.
